Costas: We need 'more comprehensive gun control legislation'

12/4/12 10:46 PM EST

NBC sportscaster Bob Costas said tonight he believes the United States needs more comprehensive gun control legislation, even as he sought to clarify his earlier remarks about gun control and rebut critics who said he was advocating against the second amendment.

Costas's appearance on MSNBC's "Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" was his first interview since the controversial remarks he made during halftime on Sunday Night Football, during which he used the murder-suicide committed by Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher to advocate for stricter gun control laws.

"Do I believe I need we more comprehensive gun control legislation? Yes I do," Costas said tonight on MSNBC. "That doesn't mean repealing the 2nd amendment... [but] the ready, easy availability of guns makes this easier."

Earlier today, Costas said it was a "mistake” to address the issue of gun control in a 90-second spot, because it “left it open to too much misinterpretation.” He reiterated that point tonight, arguing that he spoke about gun control because he "was looking for a different way in" to the issue.

"Where some people may have misunderstood my comments, I took one aspect of it," he said, citing domestic violence, the debilitating results of head injuries, and drugs and alcohol as other aspects one might have focused on.